Area fishing report (July 2)
Estuary
▪ Look For | Flounder, spotted seatrout, red drum, black drum, sheepshead, bluefish, whiting, croaker.
▪ Comments | The water temperature has dropped a modest few degrees in the last week, and the fishing has improved. Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters in Little River has used menhaden and shrimp to regularly catch Carolina slams – red drum, spotted seatrout and flounder – on trips this week. “We’ve been steady picking at them,” said Dickson, who noted a water temperature ranging from 82-84 degrees. “There’s nothing red hot but we’re catching 7-10 fish a trip. It’s a lot better this week.” Dickson has also been “running and gunning,” moving quickly from spot to spot to find fish. On the south end, Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown had two successful, but different trips on Wednesday and Thursday. First, McDonald’s crew had good success fishing cut shrimp in a “croaker hole,” catching numerous croaker, whiting and weakfish along with several 25-50 pound sharks. On Thursday, McDonald’s crew used menhaden and shrimp to catch five trout, three reds, a black drum and a few croaker in the Winyah Bay vicinity. McDonald noted a water temperature range of 82-86 degrees.
Inshore
▪ Look For | Spanish mackerel, bluefish, king mackerel, whiting, pompano, croaker, spots, flounder, weakfish, spadefish, black drum, sharks.
▪ Comments | Fish are scattered along the beach with Spanish mackerel currently the best bet. Look for Spanish along the beach but particularly around inlet passes such as Murrells Inlet and Little River. Spanish, along with a few kings and cobia, can be found on the near-shore reefs such as Jim Caudle Reef (three miles south of Little River Inlet) and Paradise Reef (three miles east of Murrells Inlet). Also look for black sea bass (13-inch minimum size limit), weakfish, spadefish and flounder on the reefs, along with plenty of sharks. Jay Sconyers of Aces Up Fishing has been catching and releasing some huge tiger sharks out of Murrells Inlet. While nothing is red hot, a variety of species are available off Grand Strand piers including Spanish, bluefish, whiting, croaker, flounder, spots, pompano and possibly black drum, sheepshead, spadefish and kings. The ocean water temperature was 82.89 degrees at Apache Pier at 5:45 p.m. Thursday.
Offshore
▪ Look For | Dolphin, wahoo, blackfin tuna, sailfish, blue marlin, grouper, black sea bass, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, amberjack.
▪ Comments | Trolling boats are producing scattered catches of dolphin in the offshore waters with a few wahoo and blackfin tuna mixed in. Billfish encounters are a real possibility, especially sailfish and blue marlin. But bottom fishing is the most sure thing topped by black sea bass, vermilion snapper, grouper, triggerfish, amberjack and porgy. Scamp are the most common grouper species hitting the deck. A few red snapper are being caught but the species is off-limits indefinitely in the South Atlantic Region and must be released.
Freshwater
▪ Look For | Bream, catfish, bass, crappie.
▪ Comments | “Right now the biggest concern for the fishermen is the rivers are drying up,” said Rick Woodward of Rick’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. “The Little Pee Dee is to about where you can’t navigate it, it’s getting so low.” The Waccamaw is the place to go with the current dry conditions. “The Waccamaw is always going to have water in it,” Woodward said. “The Intracoastal Waterway, the Ricefields, they’re consistently producing bluegill, catfish and largemouth. I’ve heard of some shellcracker over two pounds and that’s not bad for a flatfish.” Woodward also noted brackish and saltwater is pushing up into the Waccamaw, meaning species such as red drum and blue crabs could be found in the Ricefields vicinity.
By Gregg Holshouser, For The Sun News
This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Area fishing report (July 2)."